(Dictatorships were a dime a dozen in the Cold War years, but very few dictators got into the War Criminal Club. That sort of thing not only ruins your trade status, but also the status of any other country that continues to trade with them)

I think the real target of this resolution isn't at NK, but at China. If NK is officially listed as a state who's crimes are on par with Nazi Germany's, then China's standing can take a beating for being a willing ally to such a criminal nation.

And China does have a lot to lose if they get that kind of stain on their International Trading record. So, this is the UN's way of telling China to do something about the crazy cousin in their guardianship before China starts to get in trouble too.

rkiller1:Carousel Beast: I get where you're coming from, but it serves a good purpose to make sure the public is aware of it, and they just don't reduce t down to laughing about some poor schmucks with a chubby leader who uses what little electricity they have. It's important for people to know about a government - any government - doing wrong by their own people (ours included). I hated how information from Snowden was brushed off as "well everyone knew they spied on us" - because that wasn't the point. The point is that they're engaging in distinctly illegal activities that should provoke an outrage in us all. Keeping that sort of thing in the news, IMHO, is a service to us all.

And that service would be? To feed Outrage -> Political Decision -> Action -> War -> More debt?Or is there some other line of cause-effects that this "service" provides?/Free TIbet.

You really think it serves no purpose to tell the world that atrocities are being committed? Does that mean all those people, often oppressed civilians, who risk imprisonment, torture, and death to get evidence out of what's really going on in the brutal wars and regimes of the world are just wasting their time and lives?

Sadly little is likely to be done about North Korea in the near future. Someday the situation may change though. Evidence of what has gone on there will be important. Sooner or later, every regime loses power.

iheartscotch:Good luck actually prosecuting him on any of that. There's no way the NorKs would go along with an extradition for Dear Leader. This only means that he can't visit any other country in the foreseeable future.

North Korea "continues allocating a significant amount of the state's resources for the purchase and importation of luxury goods", the report said.

Such imports are in violation of Security Council sanctions and have included high-quality cognac and whiskey and equipment for a 1,000 person cinema, it said. There have been attempts to import Mercedes-Benz vehicles, high-end musical recording equipment and dozens of pianos, it said.

Good luck actually prosecuting him on any of that. There's no way the NorKs would go along with an extradition for Dear Leader. This only means that he can't visit any other country in the foreseeable future.